Digital Gap in Universities and Challenges for Quality Education: A Diagnostic Study in Mexico and Spain

The United Nations (UN) identifies four key elements as agents for change and for addressing societal challenges: education, research, innovation and leadership. The use of technology, from a pedagogical and organizational point of view, in higher education institutions has brought about new challen...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guillermo Rodríguez-Abitia, Sandra Martínez-Pérez, Maria Soledad Ramirez-Montoya, Edgar Lopez-Caudana
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
ICT
SDG
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/21/9069
Description
Summary:The United Nations (UN) identifies four key elements as agents for change and for addressing societal challenges: education, research, innovation and leadership. The use of technology, from a pedagogical and organizational point of view, in higher education institutions has brought about new challenges. The integration of them in the teaching–learning processes has experienced a great evolution, giving way to a digital transformation and the acquisition of new skills and knowledge, thus pointing towards quality education within the framework of sustainable development objectives. This document aims to describe and analyze the ways in which seven higher education institutions, three in Spain and four in Mexico, have taken up the challenge of adopting technologies and applying them to the educational process. To this end, in-depth interviews and direct observations were carried out. The results point to three dimensions: technological, pedagogical and organizational, which shed light on the different factors that influence the choice and availability of the use of technologies. The results indicate that contextual factors play a determinant role in the ability of an institution to profit from technologies to aid the educational process and guarantee its quality.
ISSN:2071-1050